Happy Thanksgiving to all.....

I want to wish you and all of yours a Blessed Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time and memories together......

~My Dearest Nana T~

All of you who have read my posts in the past know that Nana T...Theresa, was the "Mom" in my life. She brought me up with all her love and kindness. Slowly, during the past 5 -6 years the decline in her has been heart breaking. I feel I lost the NANA T we knew and loved to an aweful dementia/alsimers disease. She back about 3 weeks ago really started to look bad and was more and more out of it. I left there one Sunday in a full blown sob fest that when I called M I was at a hyperventalating state and had to pull the car over, in the projects b/c I could no longer see from the sobs.....I was glad I was without the boys b/c I know that would totally alarm them. Even in the past I leave there with a heavy heart sad by the fact that she is not totally with us mentally and physically will not do well either. With the holidays coming it pains me to know that she can no longer leave the home to be with us. The last time she came was on her 85th Birthday not 1/07 but 1/06. She has her "gwanda bella" bear from that day. It means how much pretty in Italian. She says pesha sotha...I won't tell ya what that means...lol
She does tell me when I ask her about the bear that sits on her nightstand near her now hospital style bed.Her old one was a regular one now she needs the medical type one. I tought of her all weekend long during our busy running around weekend. I said many times I wish I could go see her ect...We were so swamped this weekend..It is not a short ride but still....I get a call yesterday morn, not the name I want to see on the caller id.....I think in a 10 sec. time it may be about the bill. I amswer and get the worst news I could ever get....NANA T was brought back by the defibulators....Heart goes south...Hyperventalation starts......I can't even get words out.....The nurse tells me when she is stable they will transport her to the hospital ect......OK so she died and she came back? What are you telling me.????
I am not her health care proxy her son is and they could only tell me so much. They need to talk to him...Long long story short...I get intouch with his wife ...blah blah ect ect......So I got a call at 300pm yesterday with a little bit of an update....Her BP went so high heart stopped...Toxins in the blood sent BP that high.....UTI needs to be treated b/c old people can die from that. She has not eaten or drank for a week know. The past 6 mnths she really has not eaten. She is so frail and weak. My heart breaks knowing that I am gonna losse this wonderful mother. I know the day would come and know I will be a basket case. So I talk to my aunt (who is crazy mind you, everyone knows this) she is like this should be easy your mother passed away already you can deal ....AHHHH no ....I can't even put into words the Nana T connection. She knows Paula was not the mother that people dream of...I get it yes she bear me .....but a wonderful caring inconditional loving person RAISED me and that is NANA T! Knowing that she was at deaths door puts me in the sadest state and I can't even tell people the story without wellin gup with tears. It is hard as all hell to even type this. I get it she lives a full healthy for the most part life..We are blessed with that.......I am thankful for the person God put there to help mold me ........I LOVE THIS WOMEN and can't come to accept her passing could be soon. When I am in my own head I hear her voice saying "My Stephie Baby"....or when I was 12 in the department store with Normie "Stephie what is your bra size since you no longer fit into the training ones" ...Yup...thats Nana T......I recall the year I was pregnant with Stephen it was Christmas time and I needed to pick a gift up for Normie and Nana T drove me to the Mall in Saugus. Peabody was too far and the Saugus mall was brand spakin gnew as she said......We got Norma a rice/veggie steamer b/c she was vegistarian for a few years.....She told the cashier how I could not drive b/c of the baby and my best freind did not eat meat and I am her grandaughter and how she is my mother really and how I have a nioce husband. We went to Friendlys after and she told the waiter stuff. Then I was like NANA.....They don;t care....Now I know being a mom just how proud you are to tell anyone who will listen about your pride and joys......I miss her even though she is still on the Earth she is not Nana T like she used to be and I have to come to know she will be in a better place and be with her "Darling Stevie" with the sky blue eyes......Love you Nana and Papa........Love Your "STEPHIE BABY"

So cool how this looks.....

I dont know how put really cool how it happened.....Enjoy

The Big 4-OH ...................40!

This Thursday Michael will turn the BIG 4-0h.......
Forty years ago he came into this world on Thanksgiving as a mini turkey weighing over 10 lbs...(all the Raftery boys were 10 and over, poor little MIL .....She is about 5'1" and never weighed more than 110 back in the day, she had whoppers)

Tonight I am taking the family to Burtuccis (Michaels favorite) for a birthday dinner. He needed a new watch so we are all contributing to it. Cool watch it works on your body movment and never needs a battery. Fosil has long been the "cool watch" company.

He is out raking leaves while I bake the cake. We could not keep it from him. He is so not one for surprises. Neither am I , I HATE being surprised. Thanks goodness for Normie she let me in on the little secret of my baby shower....SHHHH nobody knows that to this day...LOL I did a good surprised looked. hehehehhe Well I did over hear Nonie (Michaels grandmother) slip when I was around the corner in another room, but they all taght I didi not hear...At that point I had already known from Normie being the awesome friend who knows me too well. So back to tonight....MIL wanted a big cousin/aunt/uncle/friend fest but I told her over and over HE DOES NOT WANT IT! He made it clear to me he is not his older brother who LOVES the attention....He is quiet laidback Michael who is on slow motion that does not like big deals made of him. SO I am going to honor his wishes......The cake is baking and the buttercream setting, gifts are all wraped. I sent him to the store to get eggs and butter this morn so we scrambeld while he was out. Ry made him a card from the computer and put some really sweet words on it....It came from the heart.....Stephen having a job and money now had me take him to Bobs Store yesterday with his own money to buy him something from RY an dhim...I told him Daddy expects nothing of that nature....A card will do but he insisted....Funny he picked out a new belt b/c he heard us talking one morning saying he needed one and a really funky tie.......with geometric shapes....SO NOT MICHAEL ....but I am sure he will wear it with pride.....
To mu best friend, heaven sent forever love.....Happy 40th Birthday....You get more handsome with age and grow wiser by the years.......xoxoxoxo Love Your Jelly Bean, Stephanie

This stuff makes you well~you got to try it!

Well Ryan and I are not feeling too well. Ry got sick on Sunday night and I think I caught it late Monday early Tuesday morn. He gets it really bad b/c of his asthma. I have been dosing mine and his a bit with the Bosa Nova Juice. This stuff is from the Brazilian Rainforest and is known as the mist powerful berry for antioxs around. Norma got me a really expensive brand a few months ago and I cherished it b/c I know just how powerful it is. Before school yesterday Ry and I went to the store to buy some since we were sick. He said HOW MUCH IS THAT? Like his dad! lol They are 2 for $5.00 Yes I know $2.50 for a maybe 10 oz bottel is over the top but I drink half and then delute the rest with water. I swear by it. I think it speeds recovery time. I also had a bucket of lemons last night...LOL Really it was almost a bucket full. My sisters in law, mother in law and "ex brother in law" went out to dinner last night to celbrate his 40 bithday......We were a few months late and started the planning in August but hey we still got to go. I had reservations on going b/c my taste buds were tainted, but I did taste everything fine. The food was really good. It was a little hole in the wall Itailan place in East Boston....My old stomping ground...Well it was far from Orient Heights but in EB> The area has really gone to hell. So sad when it becomes scary.....They went back to MILs for desert but I had to p/u an inhailer and needed to get some steam in my lungs. It did help I felt a little better after the hot shower. My night went aweful with chocking every hour ect. Hey what can ya do. It was really nice seeing John F and so weird to think he is in the 40 club...LOL Michael will be there on Turkey Day......Yup thats will be another post in itsself......Have a great hump day and really pick some Bosa Nova Acai Jusce up..>It is sooooo good for you!

The Baby Shower Cake.....

Here is a pic of the latest cake......you can not see the entire cake but here is the jist of it......

How appropriate..........

You Are Italian Food

Comforting yet overwhelming. People love you, but sometimes you're just too much.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Going nuts with the food surveys......

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

What Holiday Food Are You?

Snickers

Nutty and gooey - you always satisfy.

What Kind of Candy Are You?

You Are a Hot Fudge Sundae

Classic, simple, and divine. Why mess with perfection?

What Kind of Sundae Are You?

You Are a Brownie

Decadent and intense, you aren't for the weakhearted. Those who can deal with your strong flavor find out how sweet you really are.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

I love baking cookies and other stuff too.....

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

Pam and I did yet another cake.....

Sunday is the baby shower for a co-worker of ours that used to work at Northshore but has since gone to Burlington. We did the cake late last night and it came out really cute. Pam forgot her camara. We did a double layer 1/2 sheet cake with the chocolate amoretto mouse filling, butter cream frosting...no fondant thank you very much....Pam freehanded the napkin that is being used at the shower. It came out so nice....looks just like the pic on the napkin. A pregnant modern looking gal with an umbrella, the colors were light green/pink and black..Really modern feel to the cake....Once again another nice one......I love doing this with her, Miss Perfection. LOL
Really I don;t mind her perfectionist attitude because I too try to be that in other aspects of life so I can not fault a person when I too do the same thing. We have a great time atleast I think we do>>>LOL RIGHT? I really wish we could do this for a living all day every day......In the cute little town of Middleton, in the store front that is empty near Stephens HS. He could walk to work after school and help out in the kitchen...NOT! lol I could never pay him the $11.00 p/h that he make now..HEHHEHE .........Someday, you never know, I am still young and have kids who are now older so it very well could happen. Someday .........in a far off time ........I can't wait to eat a piece at the shower tommorow.....

A gift from the heart.....Normies heart....

When I was my oldest sons age around 14 years old maybe a little younger my best freind Normie, two years older told me about a book she was reading in HS, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. She had so much passion for it and went on and on about it. I just HAD to read it. Off to the library bearly a black away from where we lived, she worked there b/c she was a bookworm. lol ........I saw the size of the book and tought, you want me to read this for the sake of reading it and not b/c it is manditory! I tried, it took a while.....I had to go to her many times to clear up things. I also did not get the 1900's concept until she pointed it out. I liked the book and stuck with it despite its size. Though I also HAD to do this for the passion Normie showed I did not want to let her down...She was Normie the smart one who knew tons, way miore than me. Like I said I liked it ...I did not fall in love with it, did not have the passion she had for reading.....UNTIL I was pregnant with Stephen, I got laid off from my job, thank goodness being a sick puppy for 9 months and besides a floral arainging class I took I stayed home the last 4 months of the pregnancy and cleaned as best I could and cooked and read. I would walk to the libray but never had a passion for books, until I revisited A Tree......Well I "GOT IT" all those years later and fell head over heals with it. I have since revisited that book several times since the kids were born. The last time I had to wait two weeks for our library to get a copy from one out of town. My boys were amazed at how I loved to go to my room and go to this other world. At the end of the book I had to change the pillow case b/c I still cryed my eyes out., just to no longer be apart of the book and its charcters. So the other day Normie posted about how Moby Dick was her favorite novel and I was like WHAT? I tought we were on the same page with the Tree Grows thing......I posted a comment about my dissapointment and stated the wrong author...OPPS...my bad......lol I said if I had the book I would of looked but I get it from the library and someday would love a copy of my own......I get an e-mail within minutes that states...Look out for a package in 3-5 buisness days from Amazon.com....I e-mail Normie and ask is she really early with the boys Christmas presents>>>>>>No It is a gift for you she sayd...I am like WHAT? She the awsome friend that she is takes it upon herself and just orders me a copy of my own. I am floored. I love her to pieces. I did not atall expect that. She is a doll. The thing is she knows things like that mean more to me than any expensive overinduldging things out there. Like the bag of garden tomatoes a hockey mom gave to me this Oct. She said "you would think I gave you gold" ..I told her it is things like that that matter to me more than any bought gift or gift that is just bought. It is the tought that counts....I now have tears in my eyes b/c of the pasion I I have for thoughtfulness.....In my book a little goes a long way. So to Normie I say your act of surprise means more to me than any amount of money. To receive that copy of my own will have a place in my heart and cherished for a lifetime....To some it may just be a book but ot me it is priceles.....Love xoxoxoxoxoox Stephie

Just got my copy in the mail...Gonna keep it in the car so when I am picking up or at hockey practive I will read it on the down/wait time......I can't wait to revisit Francie and Neely and Papa in "his dapper clothes"//////Thanks again Normie.....xoxooxox

I HAD to put the heat on.....

I guess I loose........The heat HAD to go on this morn. The outside temp read 29....OK the inside temp read 61. I just got it up to 64 and turned it back off..,,,,,,,,It still feels cool but not so cold you can see your breath. Any others turn theirs on yet? I am leaving it off when I go to work but I am sure tonight with the eve temps expected to be 32 I will get it back on....Stay warm .....get out those sweaters and blankets......Have a nice day ..............Or try......

Got the GOLD!

Masco gets the GOLD!
We won all five games and two of them were shut outs.......Yeah baby! Our last year in Lake Placid and we went out with a bang....Awesome team work all around....Stephen got the most assists in his division......GO MASCO!
boy was it freeeezzzinggg there.......at 11 am it was 31*....Yikes.......